The Other Wolf
by scoutfinches
Summary: A sort-of prequel to TWAU in which a murder is committed by one of Bigby's distant, schizophrenic relatives. Details of the crime and investigation are given. (A project I wrote w/ a friend at school for Psychology class.) Rated M for gore (?)
1. Chapter 1

_Time: 10:25 PM_  
_Date: 11/5/88_  
_Location: Fabletown, New York (New York City, New York); Woodlands Retirement Clinic._  
_Case: 1685_

_The rain poured in the streets. The people in the city covered their heads with their hoods. Most of them were citizens of the Woodlands apartments: Snow White and Bigby Wolf, The Woodsman, Johann, and solitarily; Beauty._

Despite that, the wolf ran further in the storm. Covered only by thin clothes on his back, he burst into the clinic. None of them noticed him at all, despite his outward appearance.

To get inside, of course, was no easy task. As with many traditional depictions of fairy tale wolves, he had to huff, puff, and blow the door (house) down. As a result, the door fell rigidly against the dirty tile. When he walked over it, it diverged into thousands of small splinters.

He made quite a big entrance, as a usual wolf would. But the few receptionists did not move or stifle from their squalid gossip magazines.

_"Where's Little Red?"_ Lucas, the wolf, spoke to himself angrily, pressing the buttons on the wall. _"She's here somewhere... Isn't she?"_

_ "Yes, Lucas , she is here. Remember? She asked you to tea, Lucas. Tea and chess. Tea and the dollhouse, a tea party."_

_ "I do, I do."_

The elevator doors opened. His destination was floor thirteen. How lucky.

Not a single soul was in his cabin either. He was completely solitary. Well, for a few seconds, he thought that.

_ "I though you'd never show up, Lucas!"_ It was the voice of a little girl. She was looking up at him. Like Bigby and Snow had on the street, she wore a hood. It was a bright, flashy red. Her short hair stopped flowing at her shoulders. Lucas couldn't help but remember the big, blue eyes she had.

Just like her grandmother.

"_I've been looking for you for hours now! Where were you running?_" He shouted, his low voice echoed in the elevator like ocean waves.

She giggled at him and gave him a toothy smile. _"I was just out at the playground!"_

No, no. Lucas thought. He knew she was out all day. He ran past many places in the city. The Empire State Building, The Twin Towers, Central Park, and Broadway. All of those steps were in pursuit of Red, the little girl.

_ "I saw you all over the place!"_ The bell rang. The thirteenth floor was in front of  
him.

Little Red changed the subject. This in turn caused the wolf to no longer care of her whereabouts.

The reason was, reader, that she was a figment in his damaged mind. He knew nothing of it, but he created Little Red. She was never born and never part of Fabletown. She never lived with him on The Farm, nor the Woodlands.

She was never, ever, real.

_ "You want to see grandmother?" _ The small child jumped in excitement. Her hood and her basket bounced with her; her Mary Janes clacked on the laminate.

Without hesitation, the wolf nodded yes.

_ "Wonderful!"_ She grabbed his massive paw and ran, dragging him down the hallway.

The sounds of the steps woke up numerous elderly women, but they made no effort to search for them.

At the end of the hall, was one last room. It was small in the others, but only in terms of size. It had more character than all of them. Complete with a little holiday wreath on the door.

The woman who occupied the room was still awake at that time of day. She was rushing to finish her Christmas tree. A small, minute structure that resembled a Indiana pine. It had bristled needles and thin, straggly branches.

The old woman put the last, red ornament on the tree. Feeling satisfied, she went back to her bed. The night, she knew, was to be short.

Lying there, however, she realized it would not end with her getting rest.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Little Red waited at the door. Red knocked. To the wolf, it was loud and clear. The patron of the room could not hear it, to his dismay.

_"She's not answering!"_ Little Red banged her small fists on the door. There was still no response. _"You might have to answer it! I don't know what's going on with grandmother today!"_

The wolf took a deep breath. He huffed, he puffed, and he blew the door (house) down.

The thud of the door startled the old woman. Finding her door on the ground only caused her to feel more flustered.

She grabbed the bottle on mace on her dresser. This occurrence was very unusual in the building. Those people in the apartments are the ones who see this stuff. The heads on the doorsteps, the farm animals, and those awful twin delinquents!

The old woman stared at the door, her heart racing. The few seconds that passed seemed like hours to her. When nothing appeared from behind the doorway, she began scanning the room.

She heard a polite clearing of the throat and adverts her attention back to the doorway.

Standing there was a attractive looking man; he appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was stroking his thick, bushy beard and stared at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he noticed the woman and gave her a glance.

_"Who are you?"_ She asks. According to the delusions, she was Red's grandmother. Her fear was clearly visible in her tone of voice and facial expression.

_"I'm sorry, I thought she told you we were coming."_ Lucas says, while she gives him a look of confusion.

_"My name is Lucas Wolfe."_ He continues. _"It's nice to meet you."_ He held out his hand to shake and walked closer to her.

She raises her bottle of mace and shouts, _"Stay away from me!"_

She never dared to shake his hand.

The wolf raises his hands in defense as a result of the woman's actions. _"Red, can you please tell your grandmother to relax?"_

**_Who is this Red? My grandchildren are grown..._**

The elderly woman once again looks at him; perplexed.

Red peeked around the doorway. She saw her "grandmother" and skipped over to her, as she to take Lucas to the door.

She pulls on the woman's pant leg and explains, _"Don't worry grandma! Mr. Wolfe is my friend!"_

Lucas smiles. _"See. I mean no harm. Do I, Red?"_

Red comes to his defense. _"Of course not!"_

With that, Lucas goes to the woman and leans in for a hug. He is instantly met with the burning sting of the mace.

While Lucas was hunched over in pain, the old woman presses her life alert button.

(Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!)

Red rushes quickly to Lucas's side. _"Grandma isn't being fun and I want fun!"_ She tells the wolf, as a smirk was coming across her face. _"You should help her... She's lived too long, she's grown out of fun."_

**Red's innocence peeled away; she was becoming the vision that began to haunt Lucas fifteen years ago. The quintessence of who he wanted to be was becoming who he was.**

** Violent; malevolent; psychotic.**

Without a second thought, he got up and smiled at his fictional companion.

_ "You're such a good granddaughter, always looking out for her like that."_

Lucas licks his lips and begins to convulse. The woman watches in horror as his limbs elongate and he begins to sprout fur.

_"What are you?" She screams as tears roll down her eyes and her wrinkled face. Eventually, they reached her hands._

The wolf begins to put on a wide smile. _"I'm your granddaughter's best friend, of course."_

He pounces on her and clasps his mouth firmly on her throat. In one quick, horrific movement, the predator killed it's prey. In that swift movement, one life ended another. There were no last words; no sympathies or empathies; and no dramatic dying breaths.

The woman died, just like that. With her eyes bulged in their sockets and staring at the ceiling in fear.

Seeing that the process was complete, Red jumped up and down, her shoes once again clacking on the tile. Again, she was clapping excitedly.

In turn, she was giving validation and applause to the act that Lucas Wolfe just committed.

_Murder._


	2. Chapter 2

_ It was a long while before they found him, or the crime scene. The blood around Lucas's lips was never wiped away. In fact, none of it was._

The old woman on the floor stared up at the ceiling, with her eyes still wide in fear. Her vocal cords were damaged; her esophagus was torn in two halves.

It was the exact kind of sight that you would see on a investigation show on television. It was too gory, too horrid to be real. It was just too gruesome.

Little Red stood hiding behind the Indiana pine and the little table. Giggling.  
Lucas dared not to look at her.

_ "Red! What have I done?"_

_"You did what I asked... What about chess?"_ Her childlike innocence came back just as quickly as it had left her earlier. Her blood covered shoes and her splattered white dress deemed contrary.

_"I..."_ Lucas stared down at the elderly woman.

His paws were shrinking back to hands. His canine ears were slinking back to cartilage.

He decided not to answer Red's question.

_ "I apologize."_


	3. Chapter 3

_ A panicked phone call had come from the retirement home at about eleven thirty that evening._

An late night janitor went to mop the hallway on the thirteenth floor. He walked past the very last room on the end of the corridor.

An old woman, Elaine Parkinson, was found dead in her room that night.

Alongside her was a man. A man in torn clothes and blood on his face. He must have fainted, the janitor said to the operator on the other line.

_"I'll send down someone soon... Meet them at the door, sir."_

The janitor stood at the door afterwards to greet the officers. He also had to show them the way. Of course, he was not looking forward to this. He said he'd rather not see the crime scene again.

None of the men who arrived were too excited to be there. Within a hour, two calls came to their office.

One, was a message from a life alert button. Another, was from the janitor at the door.

Two men, the men who arrived, showed their badges to the janitor.

One looked similar to the man that was found upstairs. He was bulkier and more muscular. However, he did not have much of a beard, if one at all. He looked exhausted, as if he just arrived from a different crime scene.

He was none other than the Fabletown Sheriff, Bigby Wolf.

Another had a even more muscular build. He was dressed in plaid and suspenders. For whatever reason it was, he carried a axe with him.

He was the Woodsman. Then, it seemed that he was a runner-up to Bigby, despite the unease they had with each other.

_"I'm glad you came.."_ The lanky janitor was rubbing his neck awkwardly. _"I'll take you to the crime scene..."_

_ "That sounds fine, doesn't it, Woody?"_ Bigby asked the Woodsman, who only stood and huffed at him.

** Ironically, the wolf normally does the huffing.**

The janitor took them to the elevator. The same one Lucas stood in a few hours earlier.  
_ "She was such a nice lady... She was going to give all of us workers gifts.. I was looking forward to it.."_

_"I'm sure she was."_ Bigby got out a cigarette._ "Woody, ya' want one?"_

_ "No. I'm good."_

_ "Suit yourself."_ Bigby lit his cigarette.

_ "Sheriff... You can't smoke here."_ The janitor interrupted.

Bigby looked over at the janitor. _"I'm only having one."_

The janitor too, huffed.

The door opened at the thirteenth floor. The officers immediately noticed the door that was knocked over at the end of the corridor.

_ "Is that it?"_ The Woodsman asked, expecting a answer from the fidgety man who called them over.

_ "Yes... It is. I found it while I was working."_

The Woodsman and Bigby walked towards the door, expecting the janitor to follow them.

He ran away instead.

The Woodsman walked in first, cringing at the sight. Even he, a strong man, couldn't stand the image in front of him.

When Bigby approached, the same reaction came from him.

_ "If it isn't your pal, Luke!"_ The Woodsman laughed as he saw Lucas sprawled across the floor, covered in blood.

_ "It's not funny, Woody."_ Bigby critiqued him monotonously. He then went to observe the dead woman.

_ "He tore out her throat, Woody. I assume it's him, isn't it?"_

_"What other animal would knock the door down? A tiger?"_ Bigby was once again subject to the jokes of The Woodsman.

_ "You have a point... But can we agree that he's the prime suspect?"_

_"We barely ever do, but yes. He probably did it..."_ He pauses to chuckle. "You wolves have quite the temper."

"I_ know, I know. This isn't the time to burst my bubble."_ Bigby spoke once again, not focusing much on his "friend".

He looked at the woman more closely. Her eyes were glancing up at the ceiling, terrified beyond belief.

**_"What big eyes you have..."_**

The Woodsman then decided to cooperate. He put one small marker right in front of the woman. Then another at the door.

_"We're gonna carry Lucas down with us and to the office. I'll call the morgue for you so you can watch 'im."_

Bigby listened to his cohort and gave him a quiet response. _"That'll be good... I hope Snow's ready to talk to him. Well, actually, if he's ready to talk to her."_

The Woodsman dropped his axe, which loudly landed on the floor, blade down.

_"Can ya' grab that for me?"_ He questioned the sheriff.

_"Just this once."_ He replied. He stomped his cigarette and threw it in the woman's trash bin.

_ "So.. We should head out. Get this thing over with. I could use some rest.. And I could probably get away from your temper too.."_ The Woodsman made Bigby a topic of derision one final time.

It took him a while to realize it was not the time to joke around about the Wolves.

_ "Yes, Woody. Let's go."_ Woody slung Lucas gently over his shoulder. The man's knitted cap almost fell off his head as he was lifted. Before picking up The Woodsman's axe, Bigby adjusted Lucas's hat.

Then, he carried his rival's weapon.

_The men quickly left. The janitor was still nowhere to be found._


	4. Chapter 4

_ Lucas awoke on a leather couch. The first thing he saw was a woman's hand. A yellow opal ring was one of her fingers. All of those lithe fingers tapped on a clipboard._

_"Where am I?"_ Lucas asked. He sat up and rubbed his head. His young companion was somewhere else, he inquired. Red was missing.

_ "You're in my office. Remember me? I'm Snow White.. Deputy Mayor."_

Like with his head, Lucas rubbed his eyes. Then, he remembered the woman.

_"Yes... And where did you get that ring?"_ He thought it was beautiful. It was a sight he liked seeing after what he had seen the night before.

The truth.

Snow smiled at him, she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before replying. _"Bigby gave it to me. Isn't that sweet of him?"_

Lucas choked on his own spit, his nervousness was making him swallow. _"It is.. Really."_

He never knew of his distant relative being giving. However, he did know that Bigby had a soft spot for Snow.

_ "However.. That's not the point of you being here, Mr. Wolfe."_

The crime suddenly played out all over again in his head. And Red seemed to be coming back to him.

He decided to ask and confirm that it was the reason. _"Then what is, Miss White?"_

_"You are here, right now, because you committed murder. Remember last night? If you do, explain what happened."_

So, Lucas went into detail of what I described to you earlier. Reader, you get the point, don't you?

While Lucas spoke, Snow wrote intricate notes about the crime on her clipboard.

_"Who's Red?" _She asked._ "I don't know of a Red who lives around here.. Maybe at The Farm, but not here."_

_"She's a my friend, Miss White. She's a little girl. About.." _Lucas put his arm about three feet off the ground._ "Yay high. She's been with me since I was a kid.. Right after college, she was there. She's almost always with me, she's always saying things..."_

He paused.

_ "What kind of things does she say to you?"_

_ "Oh..." _Lucas has to trace back his steps. He remembered everything she had ever said to him, right from the start._ "Mostly... Negative things. She tells me to kill people sometimes. And last night, I did. I cared about her too much. And now, she's not here anymore. I know she's around. She's just not here."_

Snow looked at him and sighed. _"I think you might have schizophrenia. I don't think that she's real. There aren't any other children in The Fables that I know.. We've been around for thousands of years. Red is imaginary. She would be kind if she wasn'_t."

Those words caused Lucas to become more attentive. _"You think I'm a schizo? Miss White, you must be out of your mind!"_

_ "No, I'm not. And you have a few choices. Sadly for you, most of these involve you being in prison. But you killed someone. There's no way around that..."_

_ "Choices? But if I'm sick, I'm sick."_

_ "There's nothing you can do to say you're not. But there is a way to recover."_

Lucas did not respond with speech. He only nodded his head. So, she continued.

_ "I can have a doctor prescribe medication to you if you'd like. That's one. Another is that you can go a group within the prison... Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or self-help. And you can always speak to someone like me... A therapist."_

Lucas thought only one thing. _"What if I don't want to be in jail?"_

Snow wrote more on her clipboard. _"You can go to a hospital. The state ward, most likely."_

Lucas was becoming scared. A knock came on to he door. Snow didn't hear it. It was distinct.

_It was Red._

_ "There's a police car waiting for you. I wish I could have more time to weigh out options with you... I'll try and call you tonight. Thank you for speaking with me, Lucas."_

The knocks become louder. Snow got up and pulled him from the couch. "I'll escort you out the door. I can't trust you alone. Do you understand?"  
Lucas gave her another, solemn nod. She walked him out the door. Red followed them, but Lucas did not turn his head to see her.

"Are you mad at me? What did I do? I'm sorry!"

After the car drove away, Snow peeked at the street for a little while longer. A letter dropped from above.

It was Bufkin. The flying, green monkey watched her pick up the letter. Before opening it, he asked her a question.

_"How was the schizo?"_

She huffed, like Bigby did. _"He was alright... He just found out too late."_

_ "And you waited too late for that letter too!"_ He cackled.

She walked back into the Woodlands displeased.

In the police car, Lucas sat behind bars, displeased as well.

However, both he and Snow knew that there was a slight glimmer of hope for him. Maybe, one day, he thought, he could recover. He'd be a federal prisoner, but he'd still be fully healthy.

It was obvious at that point that he was still schizophrenic. Red was yelling at him for cooping her up in the backseat. But, he realized that he could try and save himself before he could get worse.

_ Just like so many other people have done before him._


End file.
